6 45 Saman & et al Chalabi Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Mus. (2008)10 (3): 45-47 A NEW RECORD OF GOSH HAWK (BAZ) ACCIPITER GENTILIS (AVES-FALCONIFORMES) WITH SHORT NOTES ON DISTRIBUTION OF LAUGHING DOVE SLREPTOPELIA SENEGALENSIS (AVES. COLUMBIFORMES) IN IRAQ Saman R. Lahony, Mohammad K. Mohammad and Hussian A. Ali Iraq Natural History Museum, University of Baghdad SUMMARY The present paper is very important for study of biodiversity of Iraq , to know how the changes going and how the laughing dove S. senegalensis was a rare species in Iraq and now is common and also the (baz) gosh hawk A. gentilis is common and the most famous 6rd of pray in Iraq, till now missing from ornithologist and bird watcher to record it - INTRODUCTION The Avian data base of Iraq, still unclear, because of very poor study on this important part of biodiversity The war and military action for past 30 years made a great problem for ornithologists and bird watchers, they cannot have a free movement to prepare a complete observation, all the references are very old as Boswel and Tylgr (1957), Allous (1960-62), Mahdi and Georg (1969), Bunni (1979), Denis Lepage Avihase (2005). No one of them announced to Accipiter gentlis to be found in Iraq, and they put laughing dove Streptopelia senegalensis as a rare bird of Iraq. Disi ( 1987) and Shafae ( 1998) announced that both A.geniilis and S. senegalensis found in Jordan and Syria. For this matter this study is important to declare some of changes on Iraqi biodiversity. MATERIALS AND METHOD This study depends on personal field observations within past 30 years. OBSERVATION AND DISCUSSION Accipiter gentilis Linnaeus., Gosh hawk (haz) Total length 19-24 Inches. Color brownish above chest and ventral white with dark strip and yellow eyes. Morphologically similar to sparrow hawk hut much larger. Distribution in Iraq, nearly countrywide, one specimen was collected by the authors in spring from Halabjah district, Sulaimaniya province. North east of Iraq. Two other birds where collected by Hoshmand Aljaf in winter from baladroz east of baghdad , and another one collected by M. K. Mohammad 20 km. West of Rutba western desert district in May 1984, another one was seen by the authors south of Kut prov. Remark: This eautiful bird is the most common bird of pray in Iraq. specially in Kurdistan north of the country, it is frequently seen in many old stores and legend. Strepropelia senegalensis, L. (Laughing dove or palm dove). Table No.1 This dove was very rare in Iraq until 1960 the only observation by Ticehurs et al. (1921- 1922). They saw one bird at a stormy day it was probably vagrant missing his way, 46 A New Record of gosh hawk (baz) Allous( 1962), mentioned dove was not found in north of Iraq up to 1970, later on some pairs were seen in Sulaimaniyah, prov. North east of lraq. In 1980 a became common bird of this area, and rare in kerkok and Erbil west of Sulaemanyah. In 1990 become common in both of these two cities and some pairs recognized in Baaqoba toward the south. In 2005 we found many pairs in Al-Sadr city in the east and Aadameah and Taje in the north of Baghdad prove its clear from above distribution that this dove was coming from Iran toward north east of Iraq, and from this point it was spread all over the country. Remark: S. senegalensis builed a large and denseness on the roof and windows, and it’s a common bird of Jordan and Syria, Shafeae (1998), Disi (1987). Bsy adding this dove to Iraqi fauna it become four doves: Slreptopelia decaocto, S. senegalensis S. turtur; and S.orienralis the last one recorded by Bunni M.K. (1988) depending on single specimens, no more information on this dove was available. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Profound thanks to Mr. Hoshmand Al-Jaf, Falcon hunter, for helping us by taking measurement of his hawks. Table 1: Distribution of Streptopelia senegalensis in Iraq: 1960 1970 1980 1990 2004 Sulaymanyah ------ rare commom Com. Com. Kerkok ------ ------ rare Com. Com. Erbil ------ ------ rare Com. Com. Baaquba ------ ------ ------ rare rare Baghdad ------ ------ ------ ------ rare LITERATURE CITED Allouse, B, E. (1969-1962). Bids of Iraq. Arrabita press. Baghdad, 3vol. Bunni, M. K., (1979). Competition for nesting holes in feral pigeon Columba livia and house sparrow, Passer domesticus, Bull ,Nat. Hist. Res. Center. Bunni M. K. (l988). First record of rufous turtle dove Streptopelia orientalis (Latham) for Iraq, Bull. Iraq Nat. Hist. Mus. Disi, A. Bouran A. (1987). Acheck list of the birds of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, U niv. of Jordan Amman. Mahdi, N. and Georg P. V. 1969. Systematic list of Iraqi vertebrates. Iraq Nat. Hist. Mus. puh. 26. Shafae, D. (1998). WiIled birds of Jordan, Yermok Univ.pob. Jordan. Tice hurcet, C. B. Buxton, P. A. and Chesman, R. E. (1921-1922). The birds of Mesopotamia Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 28: 210-250, 381-427, 650-674, 937-956. Denis Lepage, Avibase (2004). The word bird database-Bird checklist of the world (Iraq), From internet http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=iq&list=howardmoore . http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=iq&list=howardmoore 47 Saman & et al Chalabi Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Mus. (2008)10 (3): 45-47 ز ديد طائر البا ج ل جي س شار Accipiter gentilisت ع ان صير ظ ت ق الح ر م م م ول ال ة ك ح ضا ه ال ق Streptopelia senegalensisالفاخت ع ا ي ال ف س ال ن ع ا ح ي ح د و د اظم حم ي و م ل و ن ر ت يسا ا عل ي ع خ ال بي ري ف ال ا ح ، بغداد، العراقجامعة بغداد، مت الخالصة اليت حتصل فيه هلذا البحث امهية كبرية يف دارسة التنوع احليايت يف العراق، وملعرفة كيفية التغريات اليت كانت نادرة يف بالدنا Streptopelia senegalensis وكيفية انتشار الفاخته الضاحكة من الطيور الشائعة ومل يوثق Accipiter gentilisوطائر الباز . واآلن تنتشر يف كل احناء العراق .تسجيلها من قبل الباحثني ومراقيب الطيور يف العراق